


City Life for Two Lovers

by RobinEye



Category: Hetalia - Fandom
Genre: Binge Eating Disorder, But also some real cute shit, Fluff, Gay!Alfred, Homophobia, Honestly it's a really happy story, Human Names, HumanAU, Implied Self-Harm, M/M, ModernDayAU, NSFW, Sexual Scenes, Some Heavy Shit, TRIGGERING SCENES, They have a pet Lizard along with Kiku's Shiba Inu, ameripan - Freeform, bullimia, implied abusive relationship, thicc!Alfred
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-16
Updated: 2017-06-16
Packaged: 2018-11-14 21:42:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11216832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RobinEye/pseuds/RobinEye
Summary: Alfred Jones and Kiku Honda have made a more or less comfortable life in their small apartment at the edge of the city, with only a dog and lizard to restrain them.They have already moved on from the pain of their pasts, but sometimes it still comes back to haunt them. And Alfred wonders what would happen if he were to go back.This fic will be set on the west coast of America in the mid 2010's.





	1. Chapter 1

Kiku Honda looked up from his steering wheel and up to the expanse of traffic stretched before him. He knew he shouldn't have taken the overtime job, this traffic was crazy! And this mass was only the people trying to get back into the city.

Kiku let out a huff of frustration, holding his head in his hands. He was usually home by now as his regular shift ended at four, but it was almost half-past six and he wasn't even at the turn off yet! Kiku was already late, and he knew that his boyfriend would never let him hear the end of it.

'The great Kiku Honda! Cartoonist and Illustrator! Stuck in traffic once again! When will his adventures ever end!?'

Kiku let his forehead drop against the wheel, a smile tugging at his lips, which always seemed to be a side effect when thinking about Al. He was just wondering about dinner when was snapped out of his thoughts by loud honking behind him. His eyes flashed to his review mirror where he got a lovely view of the man behind him waving his middle finger out the window. He scowled and scooted his car about ten feet before he was stopped again.

This was going to be a long commute.

\---

When Kiku finally, finally got home, he was ready to crash. If it were up to him he'd become a blanket slug and forget the world. Unfortunately his partner was one of the most vicariously energetic people on the planet, or so Kiku brags.

As soon as he closes the door behind him he hears the familiar yet progressively irritating call of,

"Kiku Honda! Where have you been!?" The shout came from the kitchen, right through the walls and into the short entrance hall that Kiku now stood in, kicking off his shoes.

"Don't start," Kiku laughed, "Traffic was awful, I know that people say that city traffic is the worst but I don't think I've ever believed it until now." Kiku stepped back to stretch his back, then continued to walk down the hallway. Their dog, Pochi, then came running from the kitchen to intercept him. The little Shiba-Inu bouncing in excitement. Kiku smiled,

"Hello Pochi." He greeted softly, Al didn't hear him.

"Ugh, why is city traffic so gross?" Alfred groaned.

"I don't know, but I think I'm about to fall asleep on my feet." Kiku complained in response. He had just turned and stepped into the kitchen, Pochi at his heels. He began walking towards Al who had his back turned to him.

Alfred was a big man in almost all aspects, he had a big smile, sense of humor, heart, and appetite. And considering Kiku was the modest height of five-foot-five, he was just really big. And did he ever love every inch of that blonde-haired blue-eyed man.

Alfred turned around in time just to catch Kiku in his arms, careful not to touch him with his hands, as they were soaked in dish soap.

"Aw my poor babe." He laughed.

"Please, I've had a long day." Kiku whined into Alfred's shirt, his face squashed over the taller man's shoulder.  
Alfred leaned down and kissed him on the head.

"Do you wanna talk about it over my infamous ramen?" Alfred asked.

"Yes please." Kiku answered.   
Well, all Kiku really wanted to do right now was to stay pressed against Alfred's chest and fall asleep, but ramen sounded almost as good.

"Alright," Alfred said, slipping his hands off Kiku's waist, then drying them on a nearby towel. "I'll get right to work then, I'm starving."

"Me too. I have some more work to get done so I'll be on the computer." Kiku said with a yawn, turning to a doorway on the far right side of the kitchen.

"Awesome, but try to stay awake for this fine ass ramen, if you will." Alfred cheerfully returned.

"'Course." Kiku smiled.

Man at least he has Alfred.

\--

Kiku had only gotten though a few emails before he heard the sound of Alfred yelling: "Come and get it!" Which must have had to be a Montanan (Montnese? Montanite?) dialect thing because Kiku had never heard it before he met Alfred. Al had grown up in a rural town smack-dab in the middle of Montana. Where there was nothing but dust, horses, and a strip mall. Kiku hasn't actually been there himself as Alfred describes it as 'actual hell' and 'a fucking death pit'. Not to mention that Alfred's parents still live there, but that's a different story. The first time Kiku heard Alfred say 'come and get it!' Kiku laughed at him for sounding like Uncle Sam reborn.

Kiku trudged back to the kitchen letting the sweet scent of ramen tempt him. As he turned the corner, he saw that the table Alfred stood next to, had actually been elaborately set up with a tablecloth, candles and chopsticks.

"Wow Alfred!-" Kiku gasped, walking into the room. "What's this?"

"The bare minimum." Alfred deadpanned, looking far off into the distance. The candlelight reflecting off his glasses beautifully. Kiku laughed,

"Shut up, I mean really what is this?"

"Well... So, don't get your hopes up, but... I may just have an offer to start a job as the new assistant manager at the grocery."

Kiku gasped.

"Maybe I said maybe." Alfred cautioned, though the grin on his face betrayed his excitement.

"Oh Al! That's great!" Kiku gasped again, jumping up to wrap his arms around the taller mans shoulders. Alfred laughed along, burying his nose into Kiku's hair.

"How much does it pay?" Kiku asked, pulling them apart.

"A lot more than a shelver that's for sure." Alfred smiled, "But let's eat, 'don't want the ramen to get cold. Cold ramen is bleh."

"Agreed." Kiku sighed happily.

A promotion? Kiku thought. That would be fantastic! The money they both made was hardly enough to live comfortably. Air conditioning was a luxury. But with this promotion and Kiku's art sales picking up, they might make something extra. They could get a new laptop, or maybe the new Zelda game.

'Stop. Slow down Honda, don't get ahead of yourself like this. The promotion isn't even solid yet. Be at peace. Take a breath.'

Kiku sat at the corner of the table to the left of Alfred, as the taller man took the head. Their dining table was pushed up against the two corner walls of their kitchen making it so that there wasn't really anywhere else for them to sit. Usually most of the table would be taken over by paperwork, flooding onto the floor. But in his table-setting process Al had moved all of it to the counter, so now they could finally fit both their bowls and onto the table. Kiku thought that if his mother saw their kitchen she would have a fit.

The ramen Alfred had prepared looked delicious. Both bowls steamed as the noodles and vegetables cooled, each had an egg yolk-up, dashes of cilantro, bean sprouts and lima beans sitting in their own respective sections atop the noodles.

"Looks like you've finally picked up my tricks." Kiku said, impressed.

"Yah, I know it's not quite right because- I'm assuming- cilantro is Italian, and it'd've been pretty hard to get cilantro into Japan since like, only the Dutch could visit."

"Eventually America, Britian and Russia too." Kiku corrected, picking up his first bite.

"I should ask you questions about Japan more often," Alfred began, slurping up a small bunch of noodles. "Like, I know I already do, like constantly but I don't know a lot of history." He pauses for a moment, chewing. "Not involving video games of course. I can tell you the date Toad was born."

Kiku laughed.

"So can I you dork, that's why I'm dating you." Kiku smiled, picking up another bite, "But for the record it is October ninth of 1988."

"Exactly!" Alfred cheered.

"You weren't even alive then." Kiku teased.

"Neither were you."

"Careful, I'm actually 80 years old." Kiku joked.

"Oh, of course grandpa."

"And that is where we draw the line."

\--

After dinner, Kiku was completely content to return to plan A; become a blanket slug. But somehow Alfred convinced him to come out to the living room to watch Breaking Bad with him.

The pair were huddled up into a corner of their low sectional couch, Alfred's arm across the armrest and the other around Kiku's shoulders. Kiku nestled as close as he possibly could to Alfred.

Only twenty minutes in sleep threatened to overcome him, and pressed up against Alfred's chest and thighs wasn't the worst place to be either. His cotton shirt was soft and thin, Kiku could feel Al's muscles stretch and contract as he breathed. The movement gentle, and smooth.

'Ugh,' Kiku thought, 'if I had to list the reasons of why and how I love Alfred, the list might accidentally turn into a series of novels.'

He sighed gently, closing his eyes and letting himself melt into Alfred's form.

Alfred glanced down at the small noise, and was completely enamored. Curled up beside him was his boy, his Kiku, half asleep and completely content. He looked down upon him warmly, and planted a soft kiss on his scalp.

Kiku shuddered under the touch, a smile creeping over his lips. He pushed himself farther onto Alfred's torso.

Being able to live together was definitely a privilege.

\--

"Keeks, hey Ki." Alfred gently prodded at the shorter man's arm.

He barely stirred.

"Kiku babe you gotta get up... It's already like 10:30" Alfred whined.

"American boy... stop it..." Kiku groaned sleepily.

"Kiku, dude, you gotta go to bed. C'mon babe." Alfred laughed quietly.

"Fine. I'm up I'm awake." He grumbled, pushing himself up from his spot.

"You were totally out cold." Alfred said, shifting his arm back into his lap.

"Mhm." Kiku rubbed at his eyes. He felt a sharp sting in the comer of his eye. "Ack!" He breathed. "Crap I left my contacts in..."

"You okay?" Alfred asked.

"Of course, course yeah." Kiku consoled, the smallest tired croak creeping into his voice. "I'mma go take them out." He stood, his eye still stinging where the contact slipped out of place, and half walked half stumbled down the hall to the bathroom.

Al watched him bemusedly before getting up himself, shuffling into the kitchen where he found Pochi asleep. He smiled and turned off the lights.

After making sure all the lights were off Al took his turn in the bathroom, brushing, flossing, all those things for good hygiene, before turning off the lights and heading across the hall to their bedroom.

In comparison to the rest of the house, the bedroom was the most chaotic. The living room and kitchen only sported a few items that displayed their geekiness but the bedroom was like a nerd's wet dream.   
The walls were covered in posters and shelves of memerobelia, from Zelda to Dark Souls to Star Wars. On the farthermost side of the room from the door stood their Bearded Dragon Carlos's cage, which stood low on a small wooden bookshelf full of Kiku's books, to its left a small window that looked down to the parking lot. On the left side of the room there was a dresser and a desk pushed up against a second window as they were lucky enough to have a corner apartment. On top of the desk was Kiku's computer and drawing tablet -Kiku worked part-time as a digital art commissioner- as well as several reminder notes.  
In the center of the room pushed up against the right wall was their bed where Kiku now sat, facing the wall. The duvet covers were dark blue and contrasted starkly against the several pillows that lay against the metal headboard. Alfred didn't even know why they had so many pillows.

Alfred strolled up before launching himself into bed, making Kiku bounce about an inch up from the mattress. He gave a short cry of alarm before laughing it off. Kiku proceeded to scoot up to Al and latch onto his shoulder where he was kindly met by a kiss on the cheek. 

"Ugh this is probably going to be the last night we are able to sleep under the covers." Kiku complained.

"Stupid summer," Alfred sighed, "I say we just hit up Matt and Gil and hide out in an igloo all summer."

"Agreed." Said Kiku, and he fell asleep.


	2. Bubble Tea & Work Drama

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kiku complains and everyone else is adorable.

When Kiku's alarm blasted out the next morning, he woke to a dog snoring in his face.   
He half groaned in disgust. Why do dogs have to be so smelly? He rolled over and turned off the alarm on his bedside table, smacking his glasses in the process.   
He rolled back over and groaned again, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He heard Alfred stir beside him.  
Underneath the covers was hot, the gross itchy hot that you only feel in the summer. He noticed that both him and Alfred were slightly out of the covers, the blanket twisted where they had fought it in their sleep. Why had he chosen to live on the west coast again?

Beside him Alfred locked his arms and stretched them above his head, exhaling a little as his muscles contracted. Then he rolled over to Kiku, but was blocked by the dog. 

"Good morning." He said groggily. Unlike Kiku, Friday was one of his days off.

"I would really rather not to go to work today." Kiku sighed, rubbing his eyes again.

"Tell me about it." Alfred scoffed, he was scratching Pochi's ear. The dog made a cute little yawning sound that made Kiku smile.

After a moment Kiku rolled out of bed, snatching up his glasses so the world wasn't so blurry. As he walked across the room, Alfred made a dumb face at him which Kiku so kindly returned before disappearing through the door frame.  
He quickly brushed his teeth in the bathroom and put in his contacts, then ran back into the bedroom to sort out his outfit of the day (Which was in fact the same work clothes he'd been wearing every day, for the past 5 months).  
When Kiku wasn't working on commissions or his webcomics, he worked fulltime at a high end Boba Tea shop. It wasn't awful, but he'd been at the same job for months now and tea was loosing its flare. But it's not like he could just quit his job to only freelance, it would be unfair to Alfred. If he did switch jobs he'd have to find a decently paying, full-time though not career-based job that he won't pull his hair out over. Nope, not hard at all.  
But Kiku didn't really have time to focus on any of that at the moment, if he didn't hurry he was going to be late for work. He quickly got dressed and passed Alfred in the hall, sneaking his bed-headed boyfriend a quick kiss before slipping into the kitchen, making some toast, and running out the door.

He called out a goodbye before closing the door behind him.

\--

The morning commute to work wasn't so bad. Kiku had the nine AM to four PM shift -which was bullshit for what he was being paid- and he usually caught the tail end of the early rush on his way to the highway. The tea shop wasn't too far away but Kiku did have to drive ten minutes on the highway before he got to the turn-off. If there was traffic he would just turn up whatever there was on the radio or listen to whatever rock CD Alfred had in the ROM. He didn't have bad taste.

The Boba, as it was called, was a little black and green store about the size of a Starbucks. And quite minimalist in style compared to its Red Lobster and Staples™ counterparts.  
Kiku pulled up to his parking spot the same time as his coworker, Benhi. She met him at the backdoor.

"Morning Honda." She said casually, opening the door.

"Goodmorning." He replied, sliding through after her.

"Wonder what Martinez has got in store for us today huh?" She joked, "I bet it's something to do with that no-gum rule." She giggled and Kiku laughed along. Oh boy.

\--

Alfred officially woke up about an hour after Kiku left. He was in bed again, trying to hold onto a fragmented dream. It was so cool, he'd been in the International Space station with all the other astronauts preparing to fight against an alien attack. But the attack never happened. Eventually Al rolled out of bed, walked into the bathroom, and turned on the shower.  
Before stepping in he made a quick run through of his day; walk the dog, feed the lizard, go through paperwork, worry about finance...  
Yuck. Maybe he'd clean the bathroom instead.

Stepping out of the hot, dry, apartment air and into the hot, wet, air of the shower was part of his daily ritual that he most enjoyed. Especially since it was getting hotter now that May had rolled around.   
Living with Kiku had definitely changed his hygiene routine- though he hates to admit it- as it was brought to his attention that washing with just soap and no washcloth (at least) was not quite right. Also that, yes, conditioner is just as important as shampoo, and no, you don't have to use more than three pumps of each. 

The things he was missing out on.

But it was all definitely for the better as his hair quality greatly improved.  
God he sounded like a Loréal commercial.

After showering he wrapped a towel around his waist and wiped the mirror clean of fog. He brushed his teeth, shaved, flossed, the whole shabang, before shamelessly admiring himself in the mirror (who doesn't?).  
He was quite proud of the body he built for himself, he'd recently lost a lot of weight and his daily runs with Pochi weren't doing him bad either. Look at those sculpted muscles! On him!   
He couldn't resist a little flex of the old biceps, and damn did he look good! No dysmorphia could sway him today!  
Feeling rather pumped up, he strutted out of the bathroom and threw on some clothes. After he had eaten and given Pochi his breakfast, he went to check on how Carlos was doing. Carlos the bearded dragon was a gift from their friends for Christmas, mostly because Antonio bought it on accident -long story- and it hadn't a home to slither to. Luckily the two had some extra cash and happily adopted the little sucker.  
He was actually quite cute for a little scaly thing, and only cost them one container of mealworms a week (and the irritatingly expensive heat lamp that heated up his rocks and sand).  
He didn't do a whole lot except run around in circles, but both Alfred and Kiku were very glad to have him.  
Alfred peered into the critters big wooden box (Since they couldn't afford a glass terrarium), and saw him perched up on his favorite rock expectantly awaiting the mealworms. 

"Hey hey little dude," Alfred said to the lizard, Carlos did not respond. Al reached under the table of where his 'cage' sat and pulled out the mealworm container from the several other Bearded Dragon themed supplies. He popped it open, and fished out four little grubs, dropping them gently on Carlos's feeding rock.   
Carlos ran over as fast as his legs could carry him and sucked up the worms one by one.  
Schwoop, schwoop, schwoop, schwoop.

Alfred feinted a little smirk before placing the mealworms in their place, and stalking off to find Pochi.

\--

To say that Kiku was sick of his job was the understatement of the year. Why did everyone only want the Mango-Green Tea? Sure it was their featured drink but Kiku swears to God that he's made enough Mango-Green Tea-Tapioca to fill a fucking house. And it wasn't like there weren't options because there were clearly thirty flavors on the menu board, each which Kiku has tried at least once and several of them are actually much better than the Mango-Green Tea so why the fuck has he made twenty five of them today? He didn't even know why he was mad about it either.

"Yo Honda," Benhi said, handing him another string of orders. He looked down and read the list...

 

Mgo GT + T   
Blk Mlk ++T   
Stwb Kw +Mgo P  
Mgo GT -T  
Mgo GT +T

 

...and sighed.

"Hey, chin up man," Benhi said from behind him, audibly snapping her gum, "you got your break in 10, yeah?"

"Oh yeah, I guess so." Kiku said looking up at the clock. It was noon already?! Wow time sure flies when your suffering. 

'Stop with the bad attitude!' His mother would say, gently smacking him on the head, "you're not going anywhere if you don't work!"

She was right though. So he sighed quietly through his nose and kept pushing through the endless cups of tea. Man he needed a new job.

The process of filling the cups with tea, tapioca, flavoring, and lidding them was fairly easy. Really, working at the Boba Tea shop was a huge win for how menial the tasks were, but boy did he want to go home.

"Four more hours..."

\--

At 4:10 pm Kiku walked from the Boba tea shop to a nearby grocery. He had decided he wanted to make something nice for dinner, fish maybe, and he texted Al the details:

Hond pond: Hey, what do you want to eat? I was thinking fish for tonight.

Al <333: Ye! I'm down with that. Can u get some beer/soda/whatever too?

Hond pond: do you have money?

Al <333: yessssssssssssssss.

Hond pond: Ok, see you at home, text me for anything (^-^)

Al <333: see you! (☝︎ ՞ਊ ՞)☝︎

Kiku scoffed out loud at the last emoji he received, he turned off his phone and skipped down to the grocery. Thinking about dinner and the days to come.

Salmon would do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew!! Why did THAT take me so long?? Welcome aboard to part two my dudes. It only gets juicier from here :)   
> Please leave a Kudos or a comment, really keeps me goin ☆〜（ゝ。∂）

**Author's Note:**

> Happy first part!
> 
> City Life for two Lovers is a story I've been working on for over a year now, I wrote it first on Wattpad so if you want to read the draft it's up under the same name, thanks for reading!


End file.
